Nut or bolt lock.



UNITED STATES Patented August 11, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

NUT OR BOLT LOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 735,706, dated August 11, 1903. Application filed May 27, 1903. Serial No. 158,952. (No model.)

1'0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I,WILLIAM H. BURNs,a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Streator, in the county of Lasalle and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Nut or Bolt Locks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to nut and bolt looking devices, and contemplates an improved appliance of this character adapted more es pecially for use in connection with the securing-nuts of railway-rail joints and possessing advantages in point of simplicity, durability, and economy of construction and efficiency in operation.

The nature of the invention will be readily comprehended, reference being had to the following detailed description and to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is an elevation of a pair of looking devices embodying my invention applied to a rail-joint, one of said devices being shown with, its locking members unfolded and the other with its members folded into locking position. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the locking appliance. Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the same with the looking members in folded condition.

Referring to the drawings by letter, A A

designate railway-rails.

B is the fish-plate, and C C are the nuts screwed onto bolts D D, which secure together the assembled parts.

While my improved locking device may be employed in connection with a single nut, I

prefer to construct and use it to look a plurality of nuts, although, as illustrated in Fig.

' 1, it is advisable ina six-bolt rail-joint to employ two devices, whereby the length is reduced and handling and transportation facilitated.

The locking device consists of a plate E, struck or otherwise formed, preferably, from sheet metal and having therein holes e e, re-

D D. Projecting upwardly are a plurality of tongues ceiving the bolts from the plate E e 6, adapted to be bent or folded, as shown at the right-hand side of Fig. land in Fig. 3, into position to lock the nuts'O 0 against rotation, the nuts being turned to bring the left-hand edge at a right angle to the length of the plate or parallel with the locking edge e e of the tongues e e. The plate at-the base of the tongues is cut away, as shown at 6 e to allow free bending of the tongues.

e e denote tongues struck from the plate and arranged to be bent to lap over the lefthand edge of the tongues e 6, whereby to maintain the locking position of the latter. By the provision of these tongues e e the tongues e e are prevented from springing beyond the adjacent edges of the nuts to free the latter, as will be understood.

In operation the plates are positioned before the nuts are turned on the bolts,'the nuts are then tightened and the tongues ee bent or folded into position to lock the nuts, and finally the tongues e e are bent or folded over the tongues e c. If the joint becomes loose, the nuts may be tightened after springing back the tongues e and e.

It will be observed that the locking device is constructed from a single piece of "metal, and as'each device is a counterpart of the other and is made from sheet metal the cost of construction is comparatively very low.

I claim as my invention Y ,Anut or bolt lock comprised of a sheetmetal plate having bolt-openings, flexible tongues each integral with the plate and extending from the upper edge of the latter and adapted to be bent downwardly in parallelism with the plate to bring one side edge in engagement with the side of a nut to lock the latter, and flexible tongues each struck from the plate adjacent to a bolt -opening and adapted to be bent to overlap the other side edge of the aforesaid folded tongu' In testimony whereof I 'affix 'my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM H. BURNS. 

